We Are Rewind Cassette Player. Reviewed.

[@POEMS466]

That was a lot of work. Thank you. I have one of these and a true sony Walkman cassette player. The sony is better sounding, which is to be expected. So much tecknical sophistication was lost for tape machines and their production when the market dried up. Companies like WARW are starting nearly from scrath. It's a good first effort, I thought. By the way, I never recorded anything on portable tape machines. I always use my home hi-fi cassette deck. Those tapes played back on this portable are acceptible sound quality, at least to me. And it's nice to have a new worry free portable again. Best wishes, Steve.

[@GaryKeepItSimple]

We need people to buy it and they will make it. Cheers

[@stevemorris187]

Thanks for your detailed insights. I have had my W.A.R since backing it on Kickstarter. To be honest i was never interested in using it as a recording device and, although I havent used scientific measurements like you, I have been happy with playback both wired and using the convenience of Bluetooth. When listening wired I have used the Sony Walkman SEQ50 equalizer which helps to reduce hiss and motor noise to a degree. I think it's a great effort by W.A.R given the limitations of available hardware and hopefully it will lead to further, improved devices which help keep the format alive!

[@GaryKeepItSimple]

Thank you. As I said I wanted to be objective. It is so much better than the cheap ones. Let us hope they master the Motor noise problem.

[@TBNTX]

I have one! I like mine.

[@GaryKeepItSimple]

I am glad you like it. It is nice to see a good Walkman type player.

[@TinyMaths]

The pencil had me wondering, " what on Earth is that for...?" Then when you tried to use it, I had sudden flash of memory; I used to use a Bic pen for that. Seemed to work quite well, because it had that regular polygon shape like a hexagon or pentagon (rather than just being a cylinder), which seemed to make it easier to grip onto the teeth of the reels; although the pens were just slightly too small, so the teeth would slip and you had to turn more than once for one turn of the reel (oh the memories). I saw a few videos a couple of years back that suggested that these things are nowhere near as good as the walkmans/personal stereos that were around in the 80's/90's. I was a bit of an obssessed nut back in the late 80's and early 90's and had a few 'not too cheap' personal stereos. The most expensive was an ultra-thin Panasonic which cost me about 80 pounds at the time; got it from somewhere like Dixon's (although I can't be sure of that). I definitely had gear-itis back then; but I loved those sleek little things, and I was influenced a bit by a 'trend' in my peer group who were getting these slim form factor devices. If I ever found out someone was making high quality ones again, I would definitely consider a purchase. Thanks for the review.

[@GaryKeepItSimple]

I appreciate you taking the time to share your personal stereo history with me. It's always heart-warming to hear about the technology that shaped our past. I loved the good quality devices of the 80s.

[@ytn00b3]

I've ordered this as I was looking for tape player, but most cheap ones aren't good enough.

[@michaelturner4457]

I believe idea of using a pencil to wind cassettes came from Japan, where pencils there have a larger diameter than your standard European or American HB pencil. Back in the day we normally used biros to wind tapes.

[@GaryKeepItSimple]

I did the BIC biro thing back in the day. I mentioned the Pencil because it was supplied. Whilst it was obviously a nod to the Myth pencils worked for this job , I was disappointed they did not source one that fitted.

[@spikespa5208]

My little finger always worked just fine. lol

[@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777]

I don't live in Japan and we were doing it in Canada.

[@chuckaluck123]

I believe the proximity of your player to your laptop is picking up some radio wave interference. I've noticed similar acoustic effects with my Walkman walking through the front door past the wifi router. I think you may be better off placing your player further away from any sort of wifi source (laptop). Cheers! Thanks for your insights.

[@GaryKeepItSimple]

Could be, the player has Bluetooth, so it should be shielded. Good point, I shall have to put the laptop into aeroplane mode in future, just to make sure. Cheers

[@cuoresportivo155]

This was useing a TDK SA tape the whole tim right? I've seen mentioned on another review that the we are rewind seems to have some bass boost (and i see it on the trace) and useing a type II would explain the treble boost. or did you use a BASF?

[@GaryKeepItSimple]

The same tape all through.

[@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777]

does it playback in true stereo it looked like dual mono ?

[@GaryKeepItSimple]

Yes, it plays in true stereo and it records in true stereo. ( I would not use it to record unless it was vital to the survival of the world ( auto level control and DC Bias)) The playback is OK.

[@AFilkyRaven]

I just noticed you use Nivida's eye tracking to make it look like your looking at the viewer, still, good review

[@GaryKeepItSimple]

I am very close to the camera and it helps . It is still a task to get the eyeline right even with the Nvida system. It is very good. I am pushed for space. I am getting better at it.

[@JetmanUK]

This is good timing as I've been considering buying one of these. In your opinion how does it compare to Walkmans and other brands from back in the day?

[@GaryKeepItSimple]

It is much better than the current crop of cheap Walkman-type things. However, in answer to your question: It is as good as a £10 Walkman was back in the day, not a £35 Walkman back in the day. The Sound is good from the tape but the motor noise is the problem. If you play loud music on this it sounds good.

[@JetmanUK]

@@GaryKeepItSimple I feared this would be the answer. I will wait for a revised model then. Incidentally I'm enjoying my W-1200, you and VWestlife are correct, it's a nice bit of kit, much better than many give it credit for. Thanks for your videos.

[@GaryKeepItSimple]

If it was cheaper (and I had paid for it) I would give it a go to try and find a cure for the motor noise. I assume they already have so it must be a bigger problem than it would appear. Thanks for your feedback.

[@BigKelvPark]

How did you find the bluetooth?

[@GaryKeepItSimple]

I tried but I gave up.

[@BigKelvPark]

@@GaryKeepItSimple It paired with my daughter's skullcany headphones no problem and sounded OK but the car said no!

[@jerryspann8713]

Vwestlife did a review of a "boom box" style AM FM stereo cassette recorder, claiming to have a Japanese mech that will not eat tapes. He demonstrated the device and it sounds just as good or better than this unit. And it was only $40.

[@GaryKeepItSimple]

I saw that review, and I am hopeful that this is the start of better new equipment. This player is better than the other Walkman-type stuff of today but, fingers crossed more stuff is made soon with good performance. This shows how good it could be but they missed the target slightly.

[@jerryspann8713]

I remember state of the art Walkmans from Sony, was not heavy and bulky. They were designed to be as small as possible and put out premium audio. This is just a piece of crap that the designer designed to take advantage of people's nostalgia.

[@GaryKeepItSimple]

The market is smaller now and this is currently the best there is. Sadly.

[@bestopinion9257]

Exactly, they sell nostalgia. And they buy fake reviews. Reviewers say it sounds good and you have to believe that, because you do not hear it. Fortunately I have 3 high end Sony walkmans and two Nakamichi decks.

[@museonfilm8919]

IMO In the early to mid 1980's, Sony had an amazing design team, plus their early Walkman's were solid and sounded great. These modern ones are low end, landfill fodder.